10-foot great white shark detected near Jersey Shore a day before July 4 holiday

Miss May, has been steadily making her way north over the past few weeks after she was first tagged with a tracker in February off the Florida coast, according to the ocean research group OCEARCH. (OCEARCH /R. Snow)

New Jersey, meet Miss May — or, rather, stay away from her.

A 10-foot great white shark named Miss May was detected off the coast of New Jersey early Wednesday, just a day before thousands of families flock to the Jersey Shore for Fourth of July.

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The shark has been steadily making her way north over the past few weeks after she was first tagged with a tracker in February off the Florida coast, according to the ocean research group OCEARCH.

The tracker has pinged near New Jersey at least seven times since Tuesday, with the first ping detected near Cape May, the southernmost point of the state. The latest ping came around 7 a.m. Wednesday several miles north, but still south of Atlantic City.

Miss May, who has a Twitter account dedicated to her, is considered a subadult, according to the shark-tracking group. She stayed in Florida during most of the spring season, starting her journey north early last month. The shark traveled 86 miles on a single day in mid-June when it passed by Charleston, S.C.

HELLOOOOO NEW JERSEY! Thank you all for your warm welcomes and keep following to see where I go next on my northward migration! You’re great hosts! https://t.co/BhlpAArJC3

Also last month, a group of fishermen had a close encounter with a great white shark off the coast of Manasquan on the Jersey Shore. One of the men recorded the shocking moment the animal came right to their boat and ate a bag of fish bait.

In May, a shark named Cabot made headlines after OCEARCH reported the animal’s tracker had been detected in the waters of Long Island Sound. The shark may have been the first great white ever detected in that area, but the group later raised doubts the tracker had accurately reported the shark’s location.

OCEARCH has tagged more than 400 animals and conducted more than 30 expeditions.